


They’re Creepy And They’re Kooky, Mysterious And Spooky: A Gallavich Halloween Tale

by koganphrancis



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: AU, Gallavich, Halloween, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-23 03:42:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12497964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koganphrancis/pseuds/koganphrancis
Summary: A weird little family moves in a couple of streets over from Ian Gallagher and he finds himself quickly falling under their spell.





	They’re Creepy And They’re Kooky, Mysterious And Spooky: A Gallavich Halloween Tale

The first time Ian saw them, he thought they were twins.

It had been an unseasonably warm fall in Chicago, and Ian found himself putting off his evening run till after dark, so he wouldn’t get too hot in the sun. Plus, by October it was full dark by 6:00 or so anyway, and it worked out well that he got his run in before eating a big supper.

He kept his route close to home, but would vary it by going down different streets. None of the streets in his neighborhood were particularly safe, but he had grown up on them and knew the worst of the worst to avoid.

On October first he decided to go down Zemansky Road. It was certainly less safe than his own street, but not on his verboten list.

He was jogging at an easy pace when he noticed a house that had been empty as long as he could remember seemed to have become occupied. For his entire life, the little house with the castle-like roof had been vacant and abandoned with boarded up windows. He always figured the only reason it hadn’t fallen down in neglect long ago was because it was built of brick.

But tonight all the windows were glowing, some with a purple light, some with green, and there was a big spotlight shining up on the front stoop from the lawn below (that had recently been trimmed of all the wild growth, Ian noticed). Standing in the glare of that light were a young man and a young woman, side by side, still as statues, dressed all in black, and their hair was black too. Even from the sidewalk Ian could see their blue eyes. He didn’t stop, or even slow his pace, but he wanted another look. He ran to the end of the block and then crossed the street to run back by the house and get another peek.

There was a streetlight where he crossed at the corner, but the rest of the streetlights on this road were broken or burnt out. Ian wasn’t as familiar with the sidewalk on this side of the street and didn’t realize it was cracked and broken from tree roots pushing up through the concrete. Right when he was passing the formerly abandoned house again, and looking up at it trying to figure out how it was covered in vines practically overnight (it hadn’t been that long since he had run on this road last), and trying to get a better look at the strange couple, he tripped on the busted up sidewalk and broke his fall by landing on the heels of his hands. He was able to gently let his knees hit the sidewalk without scraping them.

Faster than seemed possible, the man from the porch was by his side, helping him to his feet and trying to get a look at his hands.

“Is that…blood?” the stranger asked, his eyes huge in the dim light from the porch light of the house behind them.

Before Ian could even ascertain if his hands were bleeding, the woman joined them and said, “Leave him alone, Mickey. Best to have Svetlana tend to him.”

The dark haired man literally hissed at the woman, but stayed put while she led Ian across the road. She guided him up the front steps and into the house. Ian looked around with open curiosity.   The rooms were small and cramped, with all sorts of furniture, trunks, tables, photos, cabinets, bookshelves, and wall hangings. The front room was lit by strings of small green lights strategically draped over the woodwork, so it was hard to see. Things would sort of just loom out at Ian from the darkness and then disappear from sight as he moved on.

The woman escorted him to the back of the house, where the kitchen was. It was also dimly lit, and the stove and refrigerator looked very old fashioned to Ian. A big cast iron pot was bubbling on the stove and the room smelled like cinnamon and other spices that Ian couldn’t quite identify-they were sweet and sharp at the same time.

A woman sat at a wooden table, looking at a big leather bound book open in front of her.

“Svetlana, this young man was jogging by and tripped on the sidewalk across the way. He seems to have scraped up his hands, can you help him?”

“Of course,” the lady replied, speaking with a thick accent. “Yevgeny, go join your father on the porch.” A small boy Ian hadn’t noticed stood up from the corner and emerged from the gloom, carrying a big fluffy black cat. “And leave Mordecai inside!” the woman said. “We haven’t put up the charms outside to keep him from harm yet.” The boy made a pouty face, but gently put the cat back down on the tufted velvet footstool-Ian thought that’s what it was called-he had been sitting on.

When the little boy walked past Ian, he noticed he had the same brilliant blue eyes of the couple from the stoop, and that he too was dressed all in black. His attention was called back to the woman at the table when she stood up and summoned him by crooking her finger. She had long blood red fingernails that gleamed under the weak lamp hanging over the table.

Ian joined her at the sink. The woman passed her hand over an oil lamp that sat on the windowsill above the sink and it glowed brightly. Ian figured she must’ve had a lighter palmed in her hand that he hadn’t seen. Although how she could’ve lifted the glass chimney and replaced it once the wick was lit he could not say.

“You’ll forgive the primitive light source,” the woman said. “The house has stood empty for so long we don’t trust the wiring, but an electrician’s fees are a bit beyond our means right now, having come so far to live here.”

“Uh, sure,” Ian said, no stranger to prioritizing bills and life’s necessities himself. “No problem. And, really, I don’t think my hands got banged up too badly…”

“Shhh,” the woman said, peering at his hands, that she now held in her own. “Better safe than sorry.” She turned on the water and held Ian’s hands under the flow. “Let this wash over them, but don’t scrub or rub them together,” she said, using the same tone she had used in telling the boy to leave the cat. She turned and opened a cabinet and moved some stuff around while muttering to herself. Ian took a moment to get a better look at her while her back was turned. She was wearing some sort of outfit that Stevie Nicks would be perfectly happy to wear on stage. It was black and flowing and looked to be made up of many, many pieces of soft cloth.

She found what she was looking for and put a jar on the table and then went back to the sink with a small pottery jug in her hand. She pulled out the cork stopper and shut off the faucet. “Keep your hands over the sink, please,” she said, and then poured from the jug, letting the liquid from it rinse over his hands. It fizzed up and Ian figured it was hydrogen peroxide, probably. The woman patted his hands gently with a soft clean checkered towel, and holding onto his wrists lightly, led him back to the table and told him to sit down. Again in that voice that brooked no argument.

Ian sat, but said, “Thanks a lot, they feel better already. You really took the sting out of them…”

“And now I will heal them completely,” she said, unscrewing the lid of the jar she had left on the table. Ian could see there was a salve inside.

“Does that have aloe in it? I’m allergic-I know it soothes lots of people’s skin, but it gives me a rash,” Ian didn’t know why he was babbling, but he was suddenly a bit nervous about whatever was going on here.

“No aloe, do not worry. Just beeswax and soothing herbs like lavender and lemon grass and yarrow root, plus some eye of newt, yes?” she said, catching his eye and giving him a wink. Just then Ian noticed the broom in another corner of the kitchen, opposite of where the cat was looking up at him with wide open bright green eyes. The broom’s stick looked like it was made from a crooked yet strong branch, and the bristles were long pieces of stiff straw. Suddenly Ian felt something cooling on his hands, and a peaceful, easy feeling ran through his entire body.

“You got him cleaned up yet?” a man’s voice said from the threshold.

“Yes, you may come in now. Where is Yevgeny?” the woman answered.

“Standing with Mandy, keeping an eye on things,” the man answered, going to the fridge and taking out a can of beer. He cracked it open, took a big gulp of it, burped, and said, “Want one, Red?”

“Uh, er, no thank you,” Ian said. “I really should get back on my run…”

“In a minute,” the woman with the exotic name-what was it?-said. “Give the salve time to sink in. Sweating it out will be a waste.” She took his right hand in both of hers, and gently ran her finger over the heel. Ian looked down and was surprised to see the scrape had almost entirely disappeared. Huh. That was fast.

The woman continued to run her finger up his palm. “You have a very strong life line,” she murmured. “You’ll live a long and happy life.”

“Uh, thanks?” Ian said unsurely.

“And, ooh, what a bold love line you have!” The man by the refrigerator snorted, but then just took another sip of his beer when the woman shot him a look.

“But, what’s this?” she said, peering closer. “You haven’t met the right one yet-no, you’ve met him, but very, very recently, and nothing has happened yet, love-wise.”

Ian started at that. Him? He’d met him? How did this chick know he was gay? Ian looked down at what he was wearing. Basketball shorts and an old band T shirt of Frank’s from when The Who had played in Chicago in the last century, crew socks, and Nike running shoes. Nothing that screamed which team he played for, certainly.

“What is your name, dear boy?” the woman asked.

“Ian,” Ian said, swallowing thickly.

“Tell me, Ian, have you ever been in love?”

“No,” Ian admitted. “I tried to tell myself I was, a few times, but I always knew I never was.”

The man with the beer tsked sarcastically, but turned around quickly and opened the fridge again when the woman shot him a dirty look.

“Well, don’t you worry. You’re about to be very much in love, very soon,” the woman said, bringing Ian’s two hands together between her own and holding them there a moment. “Now, you’re all healed up and ready to go run. Sweat, shower, do what you like. Your hands are all better.” She gently let go and Ian broke his hands apart and looked at his palms. He _was_ all healed.

“I, uh, thank you,” Ian stumbled. “I don’t have anything to pay you with, I don’t run with my wallet…”

“Nonsense, this is what neighbors are for!” the woman said. “Perhaps someday I will need you to help me with something.”

“Uh, sure,” Ian said, nodding.

“Now, my piece of shit husband will see you home.”

“Husband?” Ian said, looking around.

Mickey raised his beer can to Ian. “That’d be me,” he said.

“In name only,” the woman muttered darkly.

“Come on, Brian, I’ll walk you home,” Mickey said, in a “let’s not fight the inevitable” tone of voice.

“Uh, it’s Ian, and that’s okay, it’s only a couple of blocks, I’ll be fine.”

“Best not to argue with Svetlana, tough guy. If she says I should see you home, I should see you home.”

Ian shrugged and stood up.

“Thanks again,” Ian said to Svetlana, who had already returned her attention to her book. The cat nimbly jumped off his stool and then leapt onto Svetlana’s lap. She absentmindedly let her hand drop down to stroke its back.

Mickey finished off his beer and set the can down next to the sink. He walked past Ian and jerked his head to indicate Ian should follow.

“So, the house, the cat, and the hell spawn you saw are all mine, although I guess technically the boy is half Svetlana’s,” Mickey said conversationally as they passed through the crowded living room. “And that wench you met outside is my sister Mandy.”

During the short walk home, Ian felt as though he was floating rather than walking. He felt a hand gently close over his arm and heard Mickey say, “This is you then, isn’t it?” and looked up in surprise to see they were standing in front of his house. Ian hadn’t remembered getting there, or even telling Mickey where and when to turn, which street was his.

“Uh, yup, that’s me. Thanks for walking me home, Mickey,” Ian said, wishing he could think of a reason to make him stick around. Just then the front door banged open and Fiona was yelling back into the house.

“Hey! Ian’s here and he’s in charge and if any of you don’t finish your homework or get to bed on time, he’ll let me know! I know you have homework too, Debs!” Fiona was yelling loud enough to wake the dead.

“Well, guess I better…” Ian began, turning his head from the front of the house back to where Mickey had been standing on the sidewalk next to him, but Mickey was gone.

The next couple of nights Ian ran past the brick house on Zemansky, and every night at least Mandy was on the porch, sometimes with Yevgeny, sometimes with Svetlana, but never with her brother. Ian would wave and they’d wave back, but that was it. Ian tried to shake things up by running by in daylight for a couple of days after his night runs didn’t give him a glimpse of Mickey, but during the day there were no signs of life at the house at all. Ian could see that even the ivy that had seemed to grow so fast all over the place looked black and lifeless; no breeze seemed to ruffle the leaves.

Ian completely altered his route for a couple of nights, avoiding Zemansky altogether. His temper frayed and everyone around him noticed he wasn’t his usual sweet self, at work, at home, or out and about on his usual errands.

He got home from a bitch of a shift at work, but he knew it could’ve been worse: the only thing worse than working the day of a full moon was working the _night_ of a full moon, but he knew he was in a shit mood and could only think of one thing that might make him feel better. Knowing full well if he didn’t see the mysterious black haired blue eyed man he’d probably feel worse, he laced up his running shoes anyway figuring he didn’t know where else to go.

His shift had ended at eight PM, so he wasn’t running down Zemansky till almost nine. It was a clear, cloudless night, and the unseasonable warmth was continuing. Ian was wearing a tank top and his lightest weight running shorts. As he approached the vine covered brick house, he noticed something bright and luminous was on the tiny patch of lawn in front of the house. As he got closer, he swiped the back of his hand over his eyes, trying to whisk away the sweat from his forehead that was blurring his vision a bit. Since his hand was sweaty too, it didn’t work, so he slowed to a stop to use the hem of his shirt.

When he looked up from that task, he realized he had stopped right in front of the house, and Mickey was about six feet in front of him, his back to the road and Ian, completely naked. Ian stood transfixed as he watched Mickey making the smooth, flowing movements of a tai chi workout. Ian had never practiced the art himself, but he may have watched a scene from Buffy The Vampire Slayer that Debbie had taped a long time ago of a shirtless David Boreanaz doing some of the moves. When the VHS tape broke after a couple hundred viewings where Ian would pause and rewind several times, Ian sought out the scene on You Tube and learned what Angel and Buffy had been doing was called.

Ian had no idea how long he stood there. Mickey had the palest skin Ian had ever seen, and considering his own, that was saying something. It looked like pure marble, no, what had they said on that field trip to the museum when he was in high school? Alabaster, that was it-it was translucent and seemed as if it was taking in the moonlight to shine it back to the heavens.

Mickey’s body was as perfect as his skin. Ian watched his strong shoulder and back muscles ripple, and then let his eyes trail down to thick, powerful thighs that would’ve taken all his attention if it weren’t for the most flawless, beautiful ass Ian had ever seen. Mickey’s butt cheeks were like two perfect moons themselves, round and full.

The street was empty and quiet. Ian felt like he had stopped breathing, but his heart was pounding in his chest. He felt his mouth fill up with saliva at the sight of Mickey’s perfection. He yearned to say something, but what would he say? He’d ruin the moment, he was sure-he’d never been able to play shit cool in his life. Plus he didn’t want to embarrass Mickey by letting him know he saw him stark naked. As far as Ian knew, he was a married man (whatever that “in name only” part meant) with a son. Maybe he wouldn’t appreciate a gay guy checking him out in his full glory.

Ian quietly got his feet moving again, slowly and silently, so Mickey wouldn’t know he was there. When he got to the end of the block he picked up the pace and began to run so he could get home and take a cold shower.

The whole way home he couldn’t shake the thought that, just as he began to sneak off, Mickey turned his head enough during one of his moves to catch Ian’s eye.

And he was smiling.

The next evening was miserable, weather-wise. It had rained all day and was even worse at night. Ian knew a run was out of the question, and just when he had decided he’d go to bed early and try to catch up on some of the sleep he’d been missing out on with too many thoughts keeping him awake in his bed lately, Fiona informed him they were out of bread, milk, eggs, butter, and all sorts of necessities for the kids’ breakfast and school lunches. Ian rolled his eyes and sighed, but he knew Fiona was trying to work two time-consuming jobs and so, even though it would’ve been easier had she let him know she needed him to do a grocery run on his way home from work, he told her he’d go out and get what they needed.

When he got to the checkout line a happy little voice said, “Hi!” from around the vicinity of his bellybutton. Ian looked down to see Yevgeny sitting in the top part of the grocery cart in front of him, his little legs swinging where they stuck out from the holes, his handsome dad at the other end of the cart unloading the groceries onto the little conveyer belt at the checkout.

“Hi, Yevgeny!” Ian beamed back.

Mickey looked up to see who was talking to his son and broke into a smile. “Ryan! Hi!” he said, piling more supplies up onto the conveyer.

“Uh, it’s Ian,” Ian said, his face turning as red as his hair when he remembered seeing Mickey the night before.

“Good run last night?” Mickey said, and winked. The son of a bitch actually winked!

“Uh, sure, yeah,” Ian mumbled.

“What’s that, Mumbles?” Mickey said, shooting Ian a look, his blue eyes shining.

Ian felt his face get even hotter, if such a thing were possible, and tried to change the subject.

“So, what are you getting there?” Ian said, hoping against hope for once he could attempt to play it cool. “Pop Tarts and eye of newt?’

“Yes to the Pop Tarts, but no on the eye of newt-Svetlana gets that shit online,” Mickey chuckled.

“Daddy, you said a swear word.”

“Oops, sorry, Little Man. How about instead of you reminding me to put money in the swear jar when we get home, I use the money to buy you some candy corn instead?” Mickey negotiated.

“Yay!” Yevgeny said, clearly agreeing to the terms.

“Do you mind handing me a bag, please?” Mickey said to Ian, who was still within reach of the shelves at the end of the registers that had Halloween candy stacked on them. Ian grabbed a bag and tried to pass it to Mickey, but he said, “Just toss it on the belt.”

Mickey got checked out, and then he and Yev waited while Ian’s items were rung up and paid for. When he pushed his cart to where Mickey was waiting, Mickey said, “You got a car, Red?” Ian shook his head no. “Let us give you a ride home then.”

“Oh, no, you don’t have to,” Ian said, feeling that he didn’t want them going out of their way. “I’ve just got a couple of bags, I can manage the train.”

“But then you’ll have to walk to and from train stops,” Mickey said. “It’s a dark and stormy night, let us take you home. Come on,” Mickey said, when he could see Ian was tempted.

“Well, if you’re sure…thanks,” Ian said, with a sweet smile.

Mickey flipped the hood of Yevgeny’s raincoat up over his head. It covered up the boy’s entire face.

“I’m Batman,” Yev said, making his voice as low and scratchy as he could. Ian laughed.

“You sound just like him!” Ian complimented. “You look like him too.” Once again, Yev was all in black. His raincoat was black, and he had black rain boots. Mickey was wearing all black too.

At the car-an older model black Buick Park Avenue-Ian put the bags in the trunk while Mickey strapped Yev into his car seat. Ian could hear them whispering and giggling and when he came back to the car after bringing the shopping cart to the cart corral, Mickey and Yev waited till he got buckled into his seat and finally Yev couldn’t take it anymore and giggled, “LOOK!” Ian looked over the seatback at him and saw he had two pieces of candy corn stuck to his incisors, making it look like he had fangs. “And look at Daddy!” Yev said, one of the pieces of candy falling off his tooth. Ian looked to Mickey and he had done the same.

Ian’s eyes were shining with mirth, but to Yevgeny he said, “Ooh, you guys are scary! Are you gonna bite my neck?”

“Only if you want me to,” Mickey said lowly, so quiet that Ian wasn’t sure he had actually said anything. Ian gave him a look, trying to read his expression, but in the low light of the dark car, he couldn’t tell anything.

“Here, we saved some for you,” Mickey said, reaching into his jacket pocket and dropping a handful of candy corn into Ian’s hand. When Mickey’s fingers opened, they brushed against Ian’s hand, and Ian swore he felt a pleasant electric tingle.

“Uh, thanks,” Ian said, popping a couple kernels into his mouth. Nothing had ever tasted sweeter.

When they pulled up at Ian’s house, before he could get out of the car to retrieve his bags from the trunk Mickey said, “Listen, tomorrow night me and the Count back there are gonna watch that Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin thing. Mandy’s working and Svetlana’s got a meeting of the Witches’ Council or something, wanna join us for some dinner and the show?”

“Say yes!” Yevgeny said from the back seat where he was still happily nibbling away on candy corn.

“That’s sounds like fun,” Ian said, smiling. “I’d love to-is there anything I can bring?”

“Naw, we’ve got it all set with the groceries we just bought. I’m making lasagna-you ain’t a vegetarian, are you?”

“Oh, no, I eat meat,” Ian reassured him quickly.

“Good to know,” Mickey said, raising an eyebrow and giving Ian a very flirty look.

They established what time Ian should show up and Mickey popped the trunk so Ian could get his bags and run through the rain into the house.

The next night Ian showed up on time, despite the extra time he took agonizing over what to wear. He finally realized he was going to watch a cartoon with a toddler and his dad for heaven’s sake, not go out on a date or anything, and went with comfortable jeans and a faded blue T shirt under one of his favorite plaids so he wouldn’t be cold but he could take off a layer if the house was warm.

The doorbell didn’t seem to be working, so Ian knocked and Mickey opened the door for him.

“Come on in, Tristan, we’re in the kitchen,” Mickey said, motioning with his hand as he turned from the door.

“It’s Ian?” Ian tried to tell him as he caught up with Mickey.

Yev was on a stepstool at the counter next to the sink, happily ripping up a head of lettuce and throwing the leaves into a colander in the sink. He was wearing black sweatpants and a black long sleeved T shirt.

“Hi, Ian,” he chirped.

Ian smiled. “Hi, Yevgeny.” At least one guy knew his name here.

“Say Hi to Mordecai,” Yev said, pointing to the footstool.

Ian walked over and crouched down and let the cat sniff his fingers before scratching behind his ears. “Hello, Mordecai,” Ian said solemnly.

“You’re good with cats,” Mickey said, nodding in approval.

“I read somewhere that you just have to treat them with the respect they know they deserve, because they were once Egyptian gods…or something like that,” Ian said.

“They were,” Mickey and Yev said together.

“Kings and Queens served _them_ ,” Mickey added.

Mickey walked to the sink and rinsed off the lettuce leaves and shook out the excess water. He handed the colander to Yevgeny and he dumped the whole thing into a big wooden bowl. Then Mickey rinsed off some cherry tomatoes and when they were cleaned off, Yev threw them in the bowl and then picked up some salad tongs and tossed it all together while Mickey cut up a purple cabbage he had rinsed off and when he was done with the knife, Yev scooped up the pieces from the cutting board and added those to the salad and tossed it again. Mickey finished things off by scraping a carrot on top of the salad with a peeler.

Mickey went to the oven and pulled out the lasagna. The aroma from the tomato sauce and bubbling cheese filled the kitchen. Mickey placed the dish in the middle of the table and then spotted Yevgeny while he backed down off the stepstool. Yev scrambled up onto his chair.

“Grab a seat,” Mickey said. “You want a beer, pop, water? He opened up the fridge and when Ian chose beer, Mickey took out two cans and a bottle of water for Yev. He placed those on the table and then went back to the counter, putting the vegetable cutting board into the sink and pulling a wooden cutting board out of a cabinet. He opened up a bread box and took out a smallish loaf of brown bread and cut a few pieces off it, then placed the cutting board on the table as well.

“Aw, that’s something I could’ve brought,” Ian said looking at the bread. “Garlic bread!”

Mickey and Yev both physically recoiled.

“Ew! No!” Yevgeny yelled, making a sour face.

“Uh, yeah-me and the kid here, both allergic,” Mickey said, putting a protective hand on Yevgeny’s shoulder.

“Oh, sorry-it’s just…what we have with Italian food at my house, when we can afford it,” Ian explained sheepishly.

“Yeah, of course-you and almost everyone else on the planet. We know you didn’t mean anything by it-we’re the freaks,” Mickey said, obviously trying to lighten the mood. “Uh, I hope the lasagna tastes okay to you-you know, no garlic in the sauce or sausage.”

“I’m sure it’ll be delicious,” Ian said. “It smells wonderful.”

After dinner Mickey wouldn’t hear of Ian helping with the dishes, but Yevgeny did want to show him his Lincoln Logs.

“Sounds cool,” Ian said.

“You say that now, but he’s a bit obsessed with them,” Mickey warned. “You don’t have to play with them if you don’t want to.”

“No, honest-I haven’t played with those in years, it’ll be fun.”

Yev led Ian into the gloomy greenly lit living room. He dug out a wooden chest from under a coffee table in front of the couch and dug out a little plastic Coleman lamp and turned it on. It only shed enough light to illuminate the table, but that was enough. Ian noticed the tabletop was a big Ouija board. The rest of the chest was filled with Lincoln Logs and the flat green slats Ian remembered building roofs with when he was a kid. Yev was pulling them out by the handful, putting them on the table. Ian got down on his knees on the other side of the chest to help him.

While Mickey splashed around in the sink doing the dishes, Ian and Yevgeny happily built a little fort with the toy logs. At first their conversation centered on the design, but once the structure was taking shape Yev introduced a new topic.

“You have really cool hair,” Yevgeny said. “Mommy says red hair is the best for making wands. It’s got the most powers, and the strongest.”

“Really?” Ian said, amused. “No one’s ever told me that before.” Ian wondered if Yev got this wand making thing from Harry Potter. He seemed a little young for the stories, but maybe his parents read him the books, or maybe they let him watch the movies.

“I’m getting old enough to have my own wand soon. I’d sure like some red hair to put in it…”

“Hey, what are bugging him with that witch talk for?” Mickey said, walking into the room, his kitchen chores done.

“He’s the only person with red hair I know!” Yev defended himself.

“Well, I’ve got a sister with red hair-wouldn’t hers be better? It’s long, so it would go all the way up a wand,” Ian said.

“Naw, you don’t need it long,” Yev told him. “You just need some in the base of the wand, that’s where all the magic and power comes from.”

“Good to know,” Ian said. “Sure you can have some of mine-it’s the least I could do after that great meal. The lasagna was delicious and you made the best salad I ever had, Yevgeny.”

“And mommy made the bread!” Yev added.

“Yeah, the bread was so good too. I’d say a lock of my hair is a small price for such a wonderful feast.” Ian said.

Mickey had been sitting across the low table from them on the couch during this exchange. He looked at Ian and raised his eyebrows. “You really want to do this?”

Ian nodded.

“I’ll get the scissors,” Mickey said. “Yev, go get one of your mom’s bags to put it in.”

They reconvened in the living room, Mickey with the shears, Yev with a small black silk bag with a drawstring. Mickey pulled a straight back wooden chair out of the gloom of the room and told Ian to be seated. Ian sat and Mickey walked around to the back of the chair.

“I’ll cut it from the back so if I fuck up, you won’t know,” Mickey said. Ian thought he was joking, or at least hoped he was. Yev was so excited about getting some red hair he didn’t even call his dad out on the swear word.

Mickey ran his fingers up the nape of Ian’s neck, letting the thick hair glide between them. It was soft and silky and he ran his fingers through a few times. Ian had to resist preening like the cat while he did so. Finally Mickey grasped his fingers tight, trapping some hair there, and snipped. A small perfect coil of red formed when he placed the hair into the palm of Yevgeny’s hand.

“Thank you,” Yev breathed, staring down at it.

“Put it in the bag before it gets lost, and then tomorrow you and your mom can go out looking for a branch to make the wand out of,” Mickey said.

Next they needed to put the Lincoln Logs and lamp away and get Yev washed up and his teeth brushed so they could watch the show when it started at eight. Ian helped with the toys, and then Mickey marched the kid off to the rooms Ian hadn’t seen yet. They were back quickly, apparently the black outfit Yev had on when Ian arrived were his pajamas.

The three guys took seats on the couch, Yev settling in between the two men. Mickey picked up a remote from somewhere next to him and clicked the TV on. As the screen lit up, Mickey caught a worried look cross Ian’s face.

“You worried about the power?” Mickey said. Without waiting for an answer he continued, “The worst that’ll happen if we overload the wiring is a fuse will blow. The basement is a scary place to go into to replace the fuse, but I’ve done it before.” Ian nodded and the show started.

Halfway through the story, Yevgeny fell asleep, cuddled up into Ian’s side. Ian softly whispered, “Mickey,” to get his attention, and when Mickey looked at Ian, Ian cast his eyes downward to let Mickey know what was happening.

Mickey smiled softly. “I’ll carry him to bed when the show’s over in case he wakes up and wants to see the end,” Mickey whispered. Ian nodded and returned his attention to the TV. He had watched the Great Pumpkin every year, so the familiar story wasn’t exactly holding his interest, but it was so pleasant in the darkened room with the green lights and the warm boy at his side.

Next thing Ian knew, he was stretched out on the couch, his sneakers off and a patchwork quilt over him. The quilt was silky and warm, and it smelled like Mickey, a combination of coffee and tobacco, a little mint and Big Red gum, and something sweet like vanilla and hazelnut together. Ian had had a restful, dreamless sleep under that quilt-he woke up feeling the most refreshed he could remember. The sun was just about to rise; the room was filled with a gray light that comes just before the dawn. He had an early shift and didn’t want to disturb the sleeping household, so he quietly put his shoes on, folded up the quilt and let himself out the front door.

In mid-October, Ian came home to find his sisters and his brother’s girlfriend having a discussion around the kitchen table.

“I know he’s your brother and all, but I can’t help feeling like he’s cheating on me. If either of you know anything, would you please tell me?” Sierra begged.

Debbie and Fiona exchanged a look.

“I don’t know anything he’s up to lately, but based on his record with relationships? Yeah, if you suspect something, there’s probably something going on,” Fiona said. She’d been cheated on enough in her life that she wasn’t willing to defend Lip if he was up to his usual bullshit.

“I don’t know, though,” Debbie said thoughtfully. “When has he ever bothered to hide his cheating? He usually doesn’t care that all parties involved know about it. Have you tried asking him?”

Sierra was biting her thumbnail down to the quick. “I did try, and all he said was, ‘Do you really want to know what I feel that lack of trust implies?’ What the fuck am I supposed to say to that?”

“Fucking Lip, always trying to be too smart for his own good,” Fiona said.

The three women just looked at each other, at a loss as to how to proceed.

“Hey, let’s ask Vee,” Debbie said.

“Couldn’t hurt,” Fiona said. “That okay with you, Sierra?”

“I’ll take help wherever I can get it.”

Ian went upstairs to shower and change, and when he came back down, the council of war was in full session around the kitchen table-even Kev was there, drinking from a long neck bottle. The ladies all had pink wine. Everyone seemed to be talking at once, and not much was being accomplished.

“Hey, why don’t you go ask that witch that just moved into the neighborhood,” Kevin said, his voice carrying over the others. Ian had been about to go out on his run, but he stopped at the front door and made his way back into the living room to hear more.

“Who?” Fiona asked.

“Yeah, over on Zamansky,” Vee said. “There’s supposed to be a witch over there-reads fortunes, does spells, makes potions; all that voodoo shit.”

“I’ll try anything,” Sierra said.

Ian’s shoulders sank. Now he didn’t want to run down Zamansky, he’d probably bump into half his family around there. He went out the door and ran in the opposite direction.

When he got home, Sierra had just gotten there from seeing Svetlana.

“She read tarot cards for me and sold me this potion,” Sierra said, holding up a little glass vial. “If he’s had sexual contact with another person besides me, he’ll break out in warts.”

Fiona was skeptical. “Maybe it’s something that causes warts anyway?”

“Nope, I already drank some of it, because I had the exact same thought. She put some in a cup and I drank it and then the rest of that same cup went right into here. I watched her the whole time.”

The next day at work, Ian got a frantic text from Lip, telling him he had to see him as soon as his shift was over, and to bring cream that would get rid of warts.

Ian got home and found Lip. “What the hell makes you think I’ve got any cream to cure warts?” Ian laughed, seeing his brother’s face covered in them.

Lip looked like he was about to cry. “You don’t have anything?” Ian shook his head no. “What the fuck am I gonna do?” Lip said.

“Maybe a dermatologist?” Ian suggested.

“Do you have any idea how long they last?” Lip said.

“No-why do you think I’m suddenly an expert on warts?” Ian said. “So you won’t look pretty for a few days, what’s the big deal?”

“They’re not just on my face…” Lip reluctantly admitted.

 

Ian had to work a couple of weeks’ worth of night shifts, so his runs were moved to early mornings. He tried to stay away from Zemansky but he needn’t have bothered. The house was always still as a tomb in the daytime. The couple of night runs he got in, he actually did manage to stay away from the little house.

It was finally the end of the month, and the big day had arrived: Halloween. Ian had lucked out and got a day shift in the lottery they had at work-no one wanted to deal with the Halloween night shift, so to keep it fair, they put their names in a hat and that was it. Fiona was glad he’d be around to keep an eye on things at the house, she had to work at the diner that night and Lip still refused to show his face in public.

The early evening was going pretty smoothly. Debbie had taken Liam and Frannie out trick or treating, Carl was away at school so for once Ian didn’t have to dread a phone call from the cops telling him his little brother had been caught doing something on the wrong side of legal, and Lip was hiding out at his sponsor’s house so he wouldn’t be tempted to drink his warts away.

Ian was actually having fun answering the door to the neighborhood kids in their ramshackle costumes. It was cute to see how inventive they could get using old clothes or sprucing up five dollar costumes their parents had sprung for.

Ian knew some neighborhoods had problems with teens way past kid age trying to demand candy on Halloween, but his neck of the woods was too poor to be bothered that way-the punks knew people had barely enough candy to give the little ones, so Halloween was actually a good night on their street. Grownups made a point to keep a general eye on things for a few hours and make it a safe and happy night for the kids.

Debbie got back with her candy beggars just before eight, and she told Ian she’d take a turn watching the door after she got Frannie and Liam put to bed. Ian was surprised Liam was willing to turn in so early, but he had woken up super early that morning, looking forward to his big night out.

There was a knock at the door while Debbie was still upstairs, so Ian answered it and Yev and Mickey shouted, “Trick or treat!” when Ian opened the door. Ian’s smile got even bigger when he saw it was them.

“Hey, guys! You look awesome!” he said, but really, so far he had only looked at Mickey. Ian was a bit surprised that Mickey was dressed up. He was wearing some fancy looking white tie and tails deal and had a red sash with an impressive looking medallion hanging off it. Mickey had his hair slicked back and whatever product he had used in it made it shine under the porch light.

Ian tore his eyes away from Mickey and took in Yevgeny’s costume. As always, he was in black. He was wearing an old fashioned little sailor suit with the big collar and short pants. He was also wearing a black broad brimmed hat and carrying a black balloon on a short stick. His eyes were ringed in black make up and he was wearing black lipstick.

“And who are you supposed to be?” Ian said, looking down at him.

“A passenger from the Titanic,” Mickey provided. Ian looked at Mickey a bit shocked.

“I didn’t survive,” Yev’s happy little voice chirped.

Ian’s eyes got even bigger.

“Well, your costume is the coolest one I saw all night, that’s for sure,” Ian said, grabbing a few bite size Snickers out of the plastic bowl he was holding and putting them in Yev’s bag. “Whoa, when did you start trick or treating? You’ve got a whole candy store’s worth of candy in there!”

Yev smiled proudly. “My bag’s full, Daddy said this would be our last stop.”

Ian looked at Mickey. “You want a beer?”

Mickey nodded. “That would be great. Yev can do his think and do book the lesbians down the street are giving out instead of candy.”

“Think and do?” Ian asked.

“It’s got puzzles and pictures to color and connect the dots and stuff-things to think about, then do,” Mickey explained.

“Oh, yeah, I get it. We’ve got lots of crayons and stuff,” Ian said.

Mickey and Yevgeny stood there looking at Ian. Ian didn’t think he was blocking the door, but to give them the hint, he turned sideways and motioned with his hand towards the living room. The black haired duo didn’t move.

“You have to invite us in, Alan,” Mickey said. “Specifically. Verbally?”   He raised his eyebrows, waiting for Ian to understand.

“Oh. Uh, Mickey and Yevgeny, will you please come in?”

“Love to,” Mickey said, giving Ian’s cheek a light slap as he stepped over the threshold.

They set Yev up in the living room with his book and crayons and a juice box, and then Mickey and Ian sat down at the kitchen table to drink their beers. Deb was back downstairs and talking to Yevgeny, so Ian was able to focus his full attention on Mickey.

“That’s some get up you’re wearing,” Ian said. Mickey smiled broadly and Ian noticed his teeth. He leaned closer from his side of the table. “What are those? Plastic? They look like your real teeth.”

“What are you talking about?” Mickey asked, his brow furrowing.

“Your incisors, they look like fangs. I’ve never seen anything so real looking.”

“They are real. These are my real teeth,” Mickey said, letting the tip of his tongue lick along the bottom edge of the top row. Ian lost his train of thought, following it.

“Uh…” Ian said, trying to buy his brain some time to come up with something else to say, “that suit is really something. Yours and Yev’s. Did you rent them?”

“Naw, the old ball and chain sewed up Yevvy’s herself, and this belonged to some distant ancestor of mine,” Mickey said, sweeping his hand down over his duds. He was sitting with his chair pushed a bit away from the kitchen table, his legs spread out and his toes pointing at the ceiling while his heels rested on the floor. “He was a baron or a count or something, these medals are real,” he said, flicking the display that was on the jacket. “They say he was buried in this outfit.”

Ian gave him a side look. “Come on…”

“No, seriously. They laid him out in his casket and everyone paraded by for one last looky-lou, they nailed the thing shut, buried him in the family plot out back, and later that night some faithful servant had to dig him up and get his suit and jewelry off him. They did things different back then-couldn’t bury him without paying proper respects, but couldn’t waste the clothes and trinkets. It actually makes sense-why bury the good shit? He don’t need it no more.”

“I guess…” Ian couldn’t help but think about the fact that the suit was actually on the dead guy though. He wanted to change the subject again, so looking around and seeing Yevgeny so busy at work in his book in the living room he asked, “How old is Yevgeny?”

“Four,” Mickey said, taking a sip of his beer.

“Cool. Is he in Pre-K?”

“Naw, missed the September first birthday deadline by a couple of weeks. His birthday’s September 14th, so he’ll start next fall,” Mickey said. Now it was Mickey’s turn to change topics. “Haven’t seen you running by for a while.”

Ian flushed bright red. The reasons he hadn’t run down Zemansky when there might have been a chance of being seen since the night he saw Mickey naked even puzzled him. He guessed it came down to after having a nice dinner in their house, he just couldn’t give into his lustful thoughts and try copping another peek at Mickey.

“Been busy, working a lot,” Ian mumbled, looking down at his hands. He shyly looked up from under his lashes at Mickey, and Mickey gave him a soft smile back.

“Well that’s a relief,” Mickey said. “I was worried I had either scared you off tucking you in on the couch like that when you fell asleep, or that you had tripped on another street and no one was there to help you.”

“You didn’t scare me off. It was…nice…waking up like that.”

“Or maybe I scared you off the night you saw me outside?” Mickey said. Ian could feel his face flush bright red.

“Uh…”

“It’s okay. You’re not the first guy to see me naked. I don’t let it happen often, but when it does happen, it’s because I want it to.”

“Huh?” Ian said.

Mickey smiled again. “Please, you think I was just out there in the nude for anyone to see? Your hair was shining like a beacon; I slipped off my clothes when you ran under the street light.”

“You did?”

“Yup, they were right near my feet in the darkness.”

“I didn’t look at your feet,” Ian admitted before he thought about what he was saying. Mickey grinned even more.

“Oh yeah? What were you looking at then?” Mickey asked, tucking his bottom lip under his top row of teeth awaiting the answer. Ian didn’t think it was possible, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was blushing even more.

Frannie started to cry upstairs, breaking the spell.

“Debs, do you want me…” Ian began, but Debbie cut him off.

“I’ll get her, she probably needs her diaper changed-she didn’t do her usual afternoon poop today. I bet it’s gonna be elbows deep in there, I’ll probably have to give her a bath. You can go back to listening for the door,” she said, walking over to the front stairs.

Ian and Mickey stood up.

“I should get the kid home anyway, we’re due back about now,” Mickey said.

“Oh,” Ian said, a little disappointed.

“You want to come over later? After all the little ghouls and goblins are in for the night?” Mickey asked.

“Fiona’s working till midnight at the diner-I promised her I’d keep an eye on things here.”

“That’s perfect,” Mickey said. “We’ll be wrapping things up just around midnight ourselves. Come on, come on over.”

Ian was very tempted, but was Mickey asking him over for what Ian thought he was asking him over for?

Mickey seemed to understand the question in Ian’s eyes.

“What’s the phrase of tonight?” Mickey asked.

Ian was totally thrown for a loop. Wha…? He stopped and thought. “Trick or treat?” he asked, completely unsure if that’s what Mickey was driving at. But apparently he was, because Mickey broke into a big smile. He walked towards Ian and stood up on his tiptoes to place a soft, gentle kiss on Ian’s lips.

“No tricks-you come over tonight and I’ll treat you real good,” he whispered right into Ian’s ear. Ian could feel the heat of Mickey’s skin, and his lips still tingled from the kiss.

Mickey collected his son and his bag and his book and his balloon on a stick. Yevgeny waved to Ian from his perch on his father’s hip and Ian waved back. Mickey raised his eyebrows at Ian and then they were out the door.

“Was I just invited to a sleepover?” Ian wondered to himself.

 

Between waiting for Fi and then updating her on how the night went, Ian didn’t make it over to Zemansky till about half past midnight. He hadn’t wanted to run and get sweaty, so he forced himself to keep his pace to a walk, keeping his hand on the little can of pepper spray he had in his jacket pocket the whole way. He chastised himself internally, thinking he had to be out of his mind to walk through these neighborhoods alone so late on Halloween.

“Out of my mind or highly motivated,” was his next thought, and the image of blue eyes smiling at him popped into his head.

The house was a dark shadow as Ian approached it, the windows weren’t glowing from the little lights and the spotlight that usually lit up the front porch was turned off. Clouds kept scudding over the moon, which would be full again in a few more days. The clouds revealed the moon when Ian was about twenty feet away from the house. Ian could now see that Mickey was sitting on the top step of the stoop, smoking. He had changed out of his fancy suit and Ian could just make out that he was wearing a dark long sleeve shirt and gray sweatpants.

When he saw Ian, Mickey stubbed out his cigarette on the top concrete stair and stood up and quickly and gracefully made his way down the steps. He and Ian met at the end of the house’s walkway and Mickey said, “I knew you’d come,” and kissed Ian. Ian responded to the kiss immediately, letting his mouth open slightly and licking his tongue against Mickey’s lips. Mickey softly pushed his tongue against Ian’s and the kiss deepened.

Ian’s hands, completely of their own volition (he certainly didn’t remember thinking he should move them) had found their way to Mickey’s ass. He cupped it gently, marveling at how it filled his hands perfectly, like they were made for each other. Mickey moaned quietly into the kiss and clenched his butt just slightly, encouraging Ian to take a firmer grasp.

They finally needed to part for air, and they rested against each other, their foreheads touching, not wanting any unnecessary space between them.

“I just want you to know,” Mickey said quietly in the still night, “I’m fucking gay.”

Ian chuckled. “I was beginning to think so…”

Mickey pulled back a little and looked up into Ian’s eyes in the moonlight. “Well, with the kid and the so called wife, I just wanted you to be sure. I’ll tell you all about how I came to acquire them someday, if you want to hear it, but right now I just wanted you to know the important part.”

Ian smiled down at Mickey. “It’s the best news I’ve gotten in a long time, Mick.”

“You wanna come in?” Mickey asked. Ian nodded.

Inside the house was all dark in the front room, but the kitchen light was on.

“Mickey?” the accented voice of his wife came softly down the hallway. “He is here? Bring him to say hello.”

In the dim hallway Mickey looked at Ian and raised his eyebrows. Ian grinned and nodded and they walked into the kitchen. Mandy, Svetlana, and Mordecai were all sitting in there, looking at the doorway expectantly.

“Hi, Ian,” Mandy smiled. She was dressed in some sort of Victorian dress, but it looked like it was wet and had strands of seaweed all over it. Ian looked closer and could see streaks of green in her black hair that also looked like seaweed.

“Let me guess,” Ian said, “you were on the Titanic too?”

She broke into a big smile and nodded. “I was the governess. Stayed with my young charge while his rich parents thought only of themselves and jumped into one of the first life boats.”

“Mandy and the kid got their inspiration from some Edward Gorey books at the library,” Mickey explained.

“Cool,” Ian said. Svetlana stood up to show her costume. She looked like a very sexy female devil, in Ian’s opinion. “Uh, not really sure what you’re supposed to be?” Ian said.

“The Mistress of Hell,” Svetlana said happily. “My pitchfork is around somewhere.”

“That costume is hot,” Ian admitted.

“Your hair color inspired me,” she grinned wickedly.

“Okay, okay, you guys have said hello,” Mickey said, before Svetlana came up with anything else to make Ian blush. “We’re going to my room.”

“See you in the morning!” Mandy called after them happily.

Mickey brought Ian to a room that was furthest from the kitchen. Ian hadn’t been on this side of the house yet, but in the dark, there wasn’t much to see. Mickey opened the door to his room and flicked a switch that turned on a bed lamp. It gave off a soft glow and Ian looked around. The room was small and the furniture in it took up most of the space. Ian felt instantly at home in it and the word that popped into his mind was “cozy”.

He looked at the double bed and saw that the quilt he had slept under was spread out on it. Mickey saw him looking at it.

“That quilt belonged to my mother’s mother,” Mickey said. “When she left the Ukraine to make her way to America, all her family and friends in her village made that with her for her to bring here. She told me that they all gave her a piece of cloth that meant something to them, so their love and hopes for her would be sewed up in the quilt and they’d always be with her.”

Ian said quietly, “That’s beautiful.” He took a step towards Mickey, staring into his eyes. “So are you.”

A quick grin flickered over Mickey’s features before he quickly looked around the room, looking for something else to point out to Ian to get the focus off of him. He wasn’t used to beautiful men telling him he was beautiful.

“So, ah, I haven’t had time to put my shit in here yet,” Mickey said, gesturing at the room in general. “I had a bunch of posters and shit up in my old place, don’t know if I’ll put them all back up-I’m thinking of maybe painting the walls…” he babbled.

“Mick.” Ian’s voice was soft, amused.

“Yeah?”

“You nervous?”

“Nah, well, yeah, a little. I’ve been wanting to get you alone for a month now,” Mickey admitted.

“You have?” Ian was genuinely surprised. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“Wanted it to be your idea, I guess,” Mickey shrugged. “When Svetlana said we should move here because all three of us-Mandy, her, me-would find true love, I thought she was her usual full of shit self. Then that first night I saw you-you’re gonna think I’m fucking soft in the head, I would’ve thought so before it happened to me-but, shit. I never believed in love at first sight, till then.”

Ian was taken aback. “You think you love me?”

“Fuck. No…I mean, I feel like it could happen, you know? The more I get to know you, the more I like you. But, Svetlana was just talking out of her ass, right? I’ve never been in love, but just because what I feel with you is something I’ve never felt before, that doesn’t make it…that’s not necessarily love that I’m feeling. Is it?” Mickey looked at Ian like he might have all the answers.

“I don’t know,” Ian shrugged. “I’ve never been in love either, but I do know I feel things about you I’ve never felt for anyone else too. I always find myself thinking about you during the day, and when days would go buy when I didn’t see you when I ran by here, I felt cheated and disappointed.”

“Ever think about me when you were trying to get to sleep?” Mickey said. “That was driving me nuts-I’d close my eyes and see your big eyes and red hair and suddenly sleep was far away for hours.”

Ian nodded. “The only truly good night’s sleep I’ve had since I met you was when I slept under that quilt.”

“You wanna see if it does the trick for you again?” Mickey smiled.

“You said no tricks,” Ian grinned back. “And what I’d like to do first, we should move the quilt for-don’t want to, uh, stain it, or anything.”

Mickey pulled the quilt and top sheet down to the foot of the bed with a flourish.

He looked up at Ian with shining eyes and they both stepped towards each other and met in another kiss, this one more urgent and searing than the kiss they had exchanged outside. Mickey’s right hand cradled the back of Ian’s head while his left arm snaked around Ian’s waist, pulling him closer. Ian’s hands once again sought out Mickey’s plump ass, his long fingers gently kneading the flesh through the soft fleece.

The little room was suddenly too hot, and Ian pulled away a bit to shrug out of his jacket and then Mickey was helping him, pushing his shirt up at the hem. Ian crooked his fingers into the collar of his shirt at the back of his neck and pulled the henley off over his head. Mickey let out a soft sound and ran his fingers through the hair on Ian’s chest and let his hand trail down Ian’s abs. Ian swore he could feel electricity crackle everywhere Mickey’s fingertips touched him.

Ian grasped the bottom of Mickey’s long sleeve thermal shirt and pulled it up and off him. Even without the moonlight, Mickey’s skinned glowed white in the dim room. Ian bent his head and kissed along Mickey’s clavicle while Mickey wrapped his arms around Ian’s waist and pulled him close again. Mickey got Ian moving and they stumbled to the bed and sat down, still kissing and exploring each other.

“Let me get my boots off,” Mickey said, his lips pressing into Ian’s face while he spoke. Ian let go of Mickey long enough for them both to get their shoes and socks off and then got more comfortable on the bed.

Ian was happy to discover that Mickey was a fantastic kisser. He had those full soft lips and a technique that left Ian literally breathless. The more Ian took, the more Mickey gave. He wasn’t shy at all about opening his mouth wide and sucking Ian’s mouth into his own. His tongue was talented and kept finding all sorts of sensitive spots in Ian’s mouth to poke and tease.

And Mickey’s skin was silky soft, Ian couldn’t stop running his hands over it, and where their bodies were pushed flush against each other was warm and perfect. Mickey fell back on the bed and pulled Ian with him, plunging his fingers into Ian’s hair when he landed, and he tugged just right and had Ian moaning into his kisses.

Mickey pulled back a bit and looked into Ian’s eyes. “Is this okay? Do you just want to do this or fool around some or…?” Ian broke into a big grin.

“You’re such a gentleman. I can’t remember the last time someone took the time to ask-Mick, I’m down for anything.” He rolled his hips towards Mickey, letting his bulge push into Mickey’s thigh a bit. “Kissing you is great, I can only imagine doing other stuff would be too, but if you want to take things slow, we can.”

“I’m only interested in ‘slow’ if you are,” Mickey said, moving his leg a bit to rub against Ian.

“Do you want to top or bottom?” Ian whispered hotly into his ear. Mickey turned his head and gave Ian another hot kiss.

“Do you have a preference?” Mickey said, after a moment.

“You have the most perfect ass I’ve ever seen, and generally I top, but…”

“No, good, perfect. I’m willing to do either for you too, but I want you…in me,” Mickey said, so low that Ian just heard him over the pounding of blood in his ears.

“I want you too, want to make you feel so good, want to feel that ass around me,” Ian murmured, kissing Mickey between the thoughts. Ian stopped kissing to look at Mickey’s face. Lying on the pillow, looking up at Ian, Mickey looked so relaxed and happy and ready. Ian leaned in and kissed him again, then reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Leaning on one elbow, he fished out a sleeve of three condoms.

“Magnums, huh?” Mickey said, his eyes shining and a-you’ll pardon the pun-cocky grin on his face.

“We can still switch up,” Ian said quickly, “I won’t make you do anything sight unseen, you can still change your mind.”

“Well, I hate labels, but if anyone was to call me a size queen, I couldn’t say they’d be wrong,” Mickey reassured Ian with a laugh. Ian giggled back at him. Then their eyes got serious again and Mickey whispered, “Come here.” Ian flung his wallet towards the night stand and positioned himself over Mickey again. Mickey gently ran his hand up Ian’s neck and pulled his face close for more kisses. Once Mickey had Ian’s head where he wanted it, he let his hands find their way to Ian’s belt. His fingertips on Ian’s bare tummy tickled and Ian pulled back from a kiss with a gasp.

“Is this all right?” Mickey asked.

“Yeah, yeah-just be faster if I do it,” Ian breathed out. He got up on his knees on the bed and quickly unbuckled his belt and pulled it out of all the loops. He unbuttoned his jeans and carefully unzipped the zipper without bumping his bulge. Mickey grinned up at him and arched his back so he could pull down his sweatpants. He was commando and Ian helped him by pulling the pants completely off down at his feet.

Ian was pleased but not surprised to see every last bit of Mickey’s body was as perfect as what he had already been able to see. Mickey’s cock was downright perfect-plump and a good length and smooth. Ian let his eyes trail up to meet Mickey’s.

“May I?” he asked. Mickey nodded. Ian wrapped his hand around the warm shaft, eliciting a pleased groan from Mick. Ian lowered his head and wrapped his lips around the tip, letting his tongue lazily circle around. He was absentmindedly running his thumb up and down the underside and Mickey finally had to speak up when Ian took more into his mouth and added a bit of suction.

“Man, you keep going and I’m gonna pop. There’s lube in the top dresser drawer, and you need to get your pants off.”

Ian looked him straight in the eye as he gave one more deliberate slurp. But he did have to concede the point. He backed off the bed, never breaking eye contact. Once he was on his feet, he pushed his jeans and boxers down together, and kicked his feet out of them. Mickey was still looking him in the eye, but from his prone position his peripheral vision was getting a good idea of what Ian had.

Ian finally walked over to the chest of drawers and turned to rifle through the top one to find the lube. Mickey admired Ian’s ass and the constellation of freckles across his back and shoulders he could see.

Ian found the lube under Mickey’s clean boxers and socks in the drawer and walked back to the bed.

“Gotta keep it up there cuz Yev gets into everything,” Mickey explained. “Mandy had some edible stuff he found once and now he thinks all lube is candy flavored.” Ian laughed out loud at that. He got back on the bed, facing Mickey and reached for his cock again.

“Hey, my turn,” Mickey said, getting to Ian’s cock first and tugging on it just right. Ian fell back onto his back and let himself enjoy Mickey’s touch. Mickey’s fingers were nimble and he just seemed to know what would work for Ian. The palms of Mickey’s hands were velvety soft and Ian soon found himself in danger of being too close to the edge. Ian felt around for the lube he had let fall to his side and when he found it, rolled back on his side and kissed Mickey. Mickey eagerly kissed back and soon they were breathing heavy again and Ian was working a slicked up finger into Mickey. Mickey smiled and nodded into the kiss, and Ian added another finger and worked Mickey open. His long middle finger found Mickey’s prostate and Mickey pushed against his fingers urgently. Ian slid a third finger in to be sure, but Mickey’s hand had him fully hard now and they were both ready to kick things up to the next level.

Ian gave Mickey one last kiss, letting Mickey’s bottom lip gently slip from between his teeth in a soft bite as he pulled back. Mickey’s eyes were dark with lust.

“You want to roll over?” Ian asked.

Mickey shook his head. “Want to see you.”

Mickey’s pale skin was now flushed bright pink from his face down to his neck and torso. Ian took a moment to appreciate that he had caused that as he loomed over him on the bed. Quicker than he realized it was happening Mickey had grabbed a condom and ripped it open and was rolling it up Ian’s cock for him. Ian bit down hard on his lower lip. He’d never felt so taken care of having sex in his life. Ian grinned and pulled Mickey’s left leg up over his right shoulder. Ian lined himself up and gently pushed into Mickey, inch by inch.

Mickey’s eyes were drinking Ian in. He bit down on his moans as Ian filled him up. They were both breathing heavily and the hand that wasn’t holding Ian up found Mickey’s on the bed and they slotted their fingers together. Ian paused when he was all the way in, letting Mickey get used to having him inside. Ian was holding his body still but kissing and nipping along Mickey’s jawline and neck and after a moment, Mickey squeezed his hand and told Ian, “Move.”

Ian pulled his hips back and thrust into Mickey a couple of times, trying to find the perfect angle. Mickey let him know when he hit it with a shout of, “Right there!” and Ian picked up the pace of his hips, hitting the spot with accuracy on every thrust. Mickey let his leg slide down from Ian’s shoulder so he could push back against Ian harder with his hips and they got into a rocking motion with each other that had them both panting and moaning. Ian let go of Mickey’s hand and started to jerk his cock in time with their thrusts. Mickey was already hard and his vision started going white.

“I’m close, so close,” he bit off in a choked whisper to Ian.

“Me too,” Ian said, crushing his lips down onto Mickey’s. Mickey kissed back while he could but wrenched his head away and dug his hands into Ian’s shoulders when the sensations that were washing over him got to be too much.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ian!” Mickey cried just as his orgasm hit.

Finally hearing his name from Mickey’s lips, plus the sensations of Mickey’s hot come on his hand and his ass tightening around Ian sent him over the edge too. Mickey wrapped his legs around Ian’s hips as all rhythm was lost and they rode out their orgasms together. Ian was panting hot breath onto Mickey’s shoulder as his hips slowed and then finally stilled. Ian gently pulled out and Mickey grabbed his head in both his hands and pulled him in for another kiss. The had to break apart for more air and Ian leaned his forehead against Mickey’s and they both smiled and Ian rolled over to the side to catch his breath and take the condom off.

When he could finally speak again, Ian said, “So you do know my name-I was really beginning to wonder.”

Mickey closed his eyes for a second and them opened them and turned his head towards Ian. “Yeah, sorry about that. That was another Svetlana thing. In her big prediction about us moving here to find true love, she said it was ‘written in the stars’ or some shit that the guy I met would have a three letter name, Mandy’s person would have a four letter name, and Svetlana’s would have a five letter name. At the time I thought it was really dumb, but then there you were, I-A-N and, I don’t know. I wanted to fight fate or something? Feel like I was in control of my own life? It seemed like all her predictions were coming true-she said we’d live in a tiny castle, which seemed preposterous when she said it, and then we found that practically the only house we could afford was this one, and when the picture popped up online…” Mickey shrugged. “And then it felt like everything she said about you was coming true.”

Ian snuggled up next to Mickey, flung his arm around his waist and rested his head on his shoulder and asked, “Oh yeah? What did she say about me?”

“Well, not you, but my fated guy-she said he’d be tall, pale, and handsome,” Mickey gave him a little squeeze, “and that blood would be spilled when we met. All vague fortune teller bullshit, you know? Oh, and she said your middle name would be your father’s name.” Ian went stiff in his arms. Mickey looked at him with big eyes. “Don’t tell me…”

“My middle name is Clayton,” Ian said. “That’s my real father-my biological father’s-name.”

“Jesus,” Mickey whispered. “I hate it when that bitch is right.”

“So Mandy will wind up with someone with four letters? That’s good, she won’t be suckered in by my brother Lip.”

“What the hell kinda name is Lip?” Mickey asked.

“Short for Philip, but he also gives people a lot of lip-maybe his name was destined by the stars,” Ian laughed. “He’s my brother and I love him and all that, but he’s an asshole to women. She’s better off if she never starts with him, ya know?” Mickey nodded, he did know. Mandy had a knack for picking losers, so hopefully she’d take Svetlana’s prediction to heart, especially after she found out about Ian’s middle name.

“So, where did you guys move here from?” Ian asked.

Mickey had sat up and was reaching for the sheet and quilt to cover them up, so Ian didn’t quite catch what he said as he bent in two.

“Did you say Transylvania?” Ian’s voice cracked on the last word.

Mickey gave him a sardonic look then settled back down on his pillow, pulling the quilt over Ian and himself.

“No, I said Pennsylvania-we didn’t come from that far away,” Mickey said, shaking his head at Ian. “Allentown to be specific. It’s a lot like this neighborhood, run down and not a lot going for it. But you’ve got to live somewhere, right?”

Ian nodded. “I’ve never lived anywhere else,” he said. “I know there’s more to the world than South Side, but I’m not in any particular hurry to go there.”

“So, you want to chat about the infrastructure of the city all night or do you want to get on me again?” Mickey asked in a serious tone, but his eyes were dancing.

Ian gave him a great big grin and said, “Get rid of the quilt.”

During the night they went one more round-Ian woke up needing to use the bathroom and naturally one thing led to another when they got back to bed-and then they both slept deeply and warmly under Mickey’s pretty patchwork quilt.

The next morning the house was far more normal than Ian had ever seen it before. Mickey told Ian an electrician had come the week before, but they kept the little lights up for atmosphere during Halloween season. Svetlana and Mandy had already taken them down and normal lamps had appeared in every room.

Svetlana was wearing yoga pants-yoga pants!-when the guys stumbled into the kitchen looking for a late breakfast. She asked Ian if he’d help her after he ate, taking down the black vines from the outside of the house.

“Um, sure?” Ian said, not quite sure what he was agreeing to.

Svetlana nodded and walked out the back door. “See you out there,” she said over her shoulder just before closing the door.

“They’re made out of some sort of biodegradable plant product,” Mickey explained. “Svetlana’s gonna till them into the herb garden she’s planning out back for next spring. Me and Yev have to clean up the house of horrors stuff in the basement.”

Ian gave Mickey a questioning look.

“You know, eyeballs, brains, entrails-all that shi…stuff,” Mickey said, remembering Yevgeny just before he owed another dollar to the swear jar.

Ian looked more puzzled than ever. “Don’t be scared,” Yev told him, and held his hand from where he was sitting next to him. “It’s really grapes Daddy peeled and cold spaghetti stuck together.”

“And sausage links floating in ketchup,” Mickey added, then sighed, “so much ketchup to clean up. It gets everywhere.”

Ian still had no idea what they were talking about.

“What, exactly, are you guys talking about?” he asked in a puzzled voice.

“Our haunted house?” Mickey said, wondering what Ian was having trouble understanding. “That we ran last night, for Halloween?” He looked at Ian expectantly.

“You ran a haunted house?” Ian said.

“How did you not get we had set this place up like a haunted house?” Mickey asked him. “Do you think we actually lived like this? All dressed in black and being all spooky all the time?”

“Well, don’t you?” Ian said. “I didn’t see any signs or anything advertising this as a haunted house.”

“We count on word of mouth,” Mickey said. “You put up a sign, you get the city sniffing around, talking about permits and taxes and shi…stuff. We thought it’d be easier and more profitable to just let passers by know what was up and to come on Halloween between eight and midnight for some thrills and chills at ten bucks a head. Fun for the whole family.” Yevgeny nodded in agreement.

“Me, Yev, and Mandy are just normal people,” Mickey told Ian, pausing to sip his coffee. “Next year we’ll let Yev pick out his own costume and it’ll probably be something cute and fluffy.” Mickey ruffled Yevgeny’s hair and he nodded happily.

“They said when I turn five I don’t have to play dead kids anymore unless I want to,” Yev said. “I want to be Peter Pan! Or a monkey, or a calico kitten…”  

“Good thing you’ve got about twelve months to decide,” Ian smiled. He turned and looked at Mickey. “I wasn’t under a spell last night? Like, a love spell or something? It felt pretty magical…and I slept so good-when we slept.” He gave Mickey a soft look.

“No spells, no magic. Guess you just felt safe and happy here.” Mickey smiled at Ian.

“But what about Svetlana?” Ian said.

“Oh, she’s a witch, for sure-did you hear about your brother’s warts?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> A little Halloween treat for 2017! Hope you enjoyed it, I always love hearing your thoughts. 
> 
> The title is from the Addams Family tv show, in case anyone's wondering. I think Mickey and Svetlana and Mandy and Yev would be perfect in that world, and Ian would be the clueless but willing "victim" who stumbles into their family life ;)


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